Must Be Doing Something Right
by bowtiesarecoolsir
Summary: If you could make all of your dreams come true, you might realize that not everything turns out like you think. There are disappointments and regrets, so live life without worrying about it all... and realize that not everything is all it's cracked up to be.
1. Changes

The warm glow of a London afternoon radiated through the small window of a taxi cab, a patient redhead waiting her hardest for the cabbie to come to a complete stop. Nerves on end, Lily Evans moved out of the car and to the trunk, waiting for the man to open it for her. Waiting, waiting, waiting. She never did like waiting. She sighed when her luggage was finally on the curb, paying the weathered man his dues before turning to gather her things. She took in a breath and shrugged on her backpack, dragging her trunk up along the walkway until she could find a cart to put it on. It was frustrating… having to do everything by herself. Even last year, she had her dad by her side to help out. Now… she didn't even have that. She frowned at the memory, finally having to wedge the cart against a pillar so she could edge the heavy trunk up upon it. Bloody luggage.

Pushing her way through the crowds, she smiled, watching on as what looked to be a first year stood a few feet in front of the column between platforms nine and ten. The young girl swallowed hard, her blonde pigtails pulled tight as her brow scrunched together. It was evident she was trying to concentrate, and _not_ end up crashing. With a pat on the back by what appeared to be her mother, she ran forward full speed, making her way through the barrier. The woman that was with the young girl followed, but at more of a steady walk, not wanting to catch anyone's eye. Lily couldn't help but remember her first time, where neither her nor her parents were really sure that running at a wall wound do anything but cause them pain. Smiling soft at the thought, she took much of the same pace the older woman had, pushing through the barrier and onto the platform.

The Hogwarts Express was gleaming in the sunlight, the chatter of students and families surrounding it. She scanned the crowd for anyone familiar, knowing that many students wouldn't even be at the station yet. She bit her lip, deciding her best bet would be to get her luggage on board, then look. As she started towards the back of the train, however, she could hear her name being called out.

"Lily!"

The girl in question turned to see her best friend racing up to her, crystal blue eyes glimmering in the light. Allison. She was an inch or two shorter than Lily was, but had much sharper features, much more defined.

"Ali!" Lily grinned, her smile broad, "how have you been?"

"I've never been better," she beamed, bounding up to stand beside the other, "how about you?"

Lily shrugged, taking in a breath as she continued to look around, "I've been alright… Just can't believe it's our last year, you know?"

"Yeah…" Ali mused, looking around as well, "I know what you mean."

Sighing softly, Lily looked back to her friend, looking her over. She had lost a few pounds over the summer, that much was evident. She had a curvier figure than most the girls at Hogwarts, something Lily knew the girl had a love-hate relationship with. Yes, it made the boys notice her, but no, it was not always in the positive light. She had also dyed her hair, something she had a tendency to do. It had transitioned from a pale blonde, to a now rich chocolate brown, the soft waves floating down her shoulders.

"You look so different. Lost some weight?" she smiled hopefully, thinking that maybe the girl would appreciate the complement.

Allison simply shrugged, looking back to Lily with a slightly forced smile, "I think it's just the hair, to be honest. Makes me look like I've lost ten pounds." She added the last remark with a hint of a smirk, her shimmering pink lip gloss gliding with her smile.

Lily simply nodded, looking to the ground at a loss for words. Allison, however, began to chuckle as she peeked across the way. Looking up to follow her gaze, Lily groaned. James Potter and Sirius Black were exiting one of the compartments near the back of the train, side by side like brothers. James had his wand between his fingers, twirling it around as golden sparks flew out, and Sirius had his head thrown back in laughter.

Something about seeing the bespectacled boy made her feel uneasy. Perhaps it was the fact that they had not spoken much in the past year… or perhaps it was simply that he looked older, more mature in some respects, and she wasn't prepared for the change. When he looked up from his wand, he caught the emerald orbs that had been following him carefully, and smiled softer.

Blushing furiously, Lily turned away, looking to her things, "Erm… Ali? You made sure Artemis got on the train, right?" Wouldn't want to forget her cat…

Allison rolled her eyes, "Lily… I make sure that bloody cat gets on the train every year. Why would I forget this one?"

Lily was about to make a witty retort, but was at a loss for words as she watched James and Sirius start for them.

"Hello, ladies…" James smiled a bit broader, looking between the two, "how were your summers?"

Setting a slight scoff across her countenance, Lily rolled her eyes, "Considering I got to spend it away from you…" she sneered, "delightful."

"Figured…" he sighed, his smile fading a tad as he ran his hand through his messy black mop of hair, "how about you, Willows? Have a good one?"

Ali smiled as she searched his eyes, nodding slowly, "Yeah… it was amazing. Got to visit my older sister in the States."

"The States?" Sirius cut her off, raising a brow, "I didn't know your sister lived in the States."

"She doesn't," Allison blushed, eyes quickly flickering to rest on Sirius' silver ones, "she's only there on assignment from the Ministry. She'll be coming back in November."

"Oh, right," Sirius nodded as he looked down, suddenly quite interested in his shoelaces.

An awkward moment passed in which no one spoke, Allison swallowing hard as she looked away from the boy she had had her eyes trained on, cheeks reddening darker and darker. Sirius continued to start at his feet, crossing his arms slowly. Lily and James stood off to the side, looking at the pair and avoiding eye contact with one another, waiting for one of the other two to break the silence.

"Padfoot! Prongs!"

They all swiveled around to see Remus Lupin, pushing his cart towards the small group with a large grin plastered on his face. The heavy atmosphere evaporated, and the mood returned to normal once more.

"Remus! How are you old chap?" Sirius clasped Remus' hand and shook it, donning an old, classical British tone.

Remus straightened up, taking the boy's hand and replying, mocking Sirius' choice of accent, "I'm quite fine, Sirius, my old friend."

"I hope you had a good summer, mate," James said, in quite a normal voice, "if anyone needed a break from work, it was you."

Lily looked from Remus to James, mind racing. He even _sounded_ older. Allison noticed where Lily's eyes had averted, and nudged her in the side. Emerald eyes glared towards the brunette, narrowing slightly. Ali motioned towards James slightly with her head, and quirked her eyebrows up and down suggestively. Lily simply punched her in the arm softly, trying to act as if the moment never happened as Remus turned to look at the two of them.

"Hey girls, how were your summers?" The boy asked with a frank smile.

"Good," they replied in unison, one's voice a bit tenser than the other's.

"That's great," he said, turning back to his mates, "I have something to show you guys… so, we should probably get going."

"Alright then," James muttered, throwing on one of his most charming smiles, "we'll see you two _lovely_ ladies later. Right now, us guys need to go talk about some _very_ important manly things."

He puffed out his chest when he said 'manly', causing Ali to burst into a fit of giggles. He gave Lily an extra smile before turning around to walk back to the compartment with the guys, mentioning that they should probably look for Peter along the way.

Lily couldn't hide the look of feigned disgust that was showing on her face as she watched them leave, gagging and making a retching sound. Meanwhile, Ali recovered from her fit of giggles, regaining her composure.

"He isn't _that_ bad, Lily," she mused, "he's really a nice guy. Nice, smart, athletic, _hot_… why won't you give him a chance?"

Cringing at the thought, Lily sighed, giving her friend a bit of a look as she leaned against her luggage cart, "Why should I? He's _still _nothing but trouble. You know what he did to me in our second year… I'm still not over that."

"Lily…" Allison pursed her lips, raising a brow, "he's changed, he's _mature _now," she added, perking up with an innocent smile, "besides, you looked good in blue skin."

"I looked like a blueberry…" The girl mumbled, quite put off.

Ali simply started giggling again, "Let's get your trunk tucked away, and find a compartment."

Lily trudged along, but obliged, walking with Allison along the platform to do just that. After loading everything on to the train, they found a small compartment and settled in, soon feeling the familiar lurch forward that would start their final trip to Hogwarts.


	2. Letting Go

Lily sat in their compartment quietly, contemplating the scene that had just taken place. Allison had sat in the seat opposite her, kicking her legs up so no one could sit beside her, since she was not as privy to company as her friend was. The redhead watched as anxious and excited families exchanged their goodbyes, communicating through half-opened windows and billowing steam. A pain seared in her heart, watching as some parents began to cross back away from the platform. A sigh of exasperation stole from her lips as she tore her eyes from the window, trying to keep the tears from prickling up. It was no use, trying to keep from thinking about it. It was her last trip to Hogwarts, and all she could seem to think about was the loss of her parents.

She was so absorbed in her nostalgic depression that she didn't register the shifting in the seat across from her, or the sudden absence of her friend. Her arms had crossed, legs had tucked together as she leaned against the windowsill. Closing her eyes, she felt as the train began to buckle, and then sway gently forward. If anything, she could focus on that. Let the soft movements clear her mind. Find her something else to focus on.

It wasn't as if she was still mourning. She had accepted their parting months previous. It was, however, hard for her to face moments such as this, in which she could only ever remember her parents being there for.

Time went on and her thoughts shifted to that of the encounter on the platform. There was a heated battle between her mind and her heart that was raging on, one that had been aflame ever since she met the boy. James Potter… Something about him was different now, and she couldn't very well deny it much longer. He wasn't the same boy who bullied for the sake of entertainment in their second year. He had grown, and transformed, and shaped into a young man.

She hadn't had an honest conversation with the bloke in years, and she supposed that by now, she didn't even really know much about who he really was. Gryffindor Quidditch captain. Top of their year. Wealthier than the average wizard. Extremely blessed with good looks and a fantastic…

That was about it, though.

She pulled her arms tighter around her form, curling against the corner of the compartment even more now that her thoughts were becoming an emotional mess. Sometimes, she hated being a teenage girl.

"Are you alright?"

A gentle husky voice sounded softly from the hall, one Lily knew all too well. In the shadow of the doorway stood James, Ali perched behind him. Lily frowned soft as she spotted the two, realizing that her friend must have slipped out to get the boy as she was lost in her thoughts. The irony of Ali's timing did not escape her.

"Fine…" she replied, not daring to glance into his rich hazel eyes. She couldn't. Not when her body already felt like a warm puddle of feelings on a hot summer's day.

James stood in the doorway for a few moments longer, simply watching her to make sure she wasn't about to lash out. Ali had disappeared, no doubt to sit with the other three boys. Lily sighed and turned to stare back out the window, watching as storm clouds began to cover the sunny London sky. The sound of the compartment door sliding shut filled her ears, eliciting a shockwave of tension that rattled her bones. It was just the two of them now…

They sat in a deafening silence, neither one speaking a word. Lily could feel the other's eyes boring holes into the side of her head, but she chose to ignore the nagging feeling. Rain had started to streak down the fogged glass, leaving trails of water behind each drop. It was enough to keep her distracted for a little while, but soon she couldn't ignore the boy.

"Why are you here?"

James surprised her with his response. She expected a quirk of a brow, a smirk, a grin, some sort of sarcastic remark… Instead, he let out a heavy sigh.

"I was worried about you."

A glaze of concern broke upon his countenance, a look Lily had scarcely seen before. Or, perhaps she just hadn't noticed…

"Ali sent you, didn't she?" Lily pursed her lips, staring him down like she hadn't dared to before.

"Ali came to talk to me. Told me that you seemed off, and she didn't know what to say."

All she could do was look away once more, her eyes glued to her knees as she tried to process that. Had she really seemed that off? She hadn't thought she appeared any different…

Shifting slightly in her seat, she shook her head, trying to keep her voice steady, "I'm fine…"

"You're crying…"

Lily hadn't noticed the tears until he had pointed them out, each one now feeling like a dagger being forced into her spirit. She wasn't sure why she was crying, only that she was.

James shifted slowly to stand, and then sit beside her, his powerful arms wrapping reassuringly around her shoulders. Normally, she wouldn't have welcomed the unsolicited contact, but today… She burrowed her head against his chest as she turned to face him, tears spilling down her cheeks freely as a sense of release washed over her.

All of the pain and heartache of the past few years started to surface, James' embrace slowly easing the memories away as they came. She could feel her world melting around her as she wept in his arms, his warm breath hitting her neck as his chin rested upon her shoulder. Things were going to be okay…


End file.
